Committee on Civil Liberties, Justice and Home Affairs The Chairman D 202034 17.09.2020 IPOL-COM-LIBE D (2020) 26452 TO • Mr Michalis Chrisochoidis, Minister of Citizen Protection, Greece COPY • Mr Notis Mitarachi, Minister for Migration and Asylum, Greece • Mr Georgios Koumoutsakos, Alternate Minister for Migration and Asylum • Mr. Nikolaos Panagiotopoulos, Minister of National Defence • Mr. Ioannis Plakiotakis, Minister of Maritime Affairs Dear Minister Chrisochoidis, On 6 July, the Committee on Civil Liberties and Justice and Home Affairs (LIBE) held a debate on the situation at the Greek/Turkish border and respect for fundamental rights. I would like to thank you again for your availability to participate in this debate. However, some questions remained and I am therefore writing to you to ask for further information. I would like to acknowledge the difficult situation of Greece at the external border of the European Union and the challenging relations with Turkey that affect Greece, as an immediate neighbour, more than other Member States. Furthermore, I would like to express my esteem for the efforts of Greece in the reception of high numbers of irregular arrivals of refugees and migrants. As you know, the European Parliament calls for years now upon the Member States to adopt a sustainable solution to solidarity and the fair sharing of responsibility when it comes to asylum and migration. The Parliament has even made a concrete proposal for the reform of the Dublin system that would ensure a fair distribution of asylum seekers among Member States. However, as you know, negotiations have not even started with the Council as Member States are not able to agree on a common position. Therefore, we are presently waiting for another round of proposals by the European Commission that could resolve the current deadlock. At the same time, the Parliament has always insisted on a rights-based approach when it comes to asylum and migration policies. The respect of EU and international law, notably the Charter of Fundamental Rights and the EU Convention on Human Rights, remains paramount to any other consideration and includes in particular the respect of the principle of non- refoulement and the unconditional access to the asylum procedure for those requesting it, rights which are also explicitly mentioned in Articles 4 and 14(1) of the Schengen Borders Code. Although we recognise the challenges Member States face in order to ensure effective border control at the external border in times of large numbers of arrivals, the LIBE committee is very concerned about the allegations of violence, including the lethal use of firearms, against people seeking asylum at the Greek-Turkish border in March 2020. B-1047 Brussels - Tel. +32 2 28 40660 - Fax : 0032 2 28 44941 F-67070 Strasbourg - Tel. +33 3 88 1 74420 - Fax : 0033 3 88 1 79040 [email protected] - w w w.europarl.europa.eu We take the view that only impartial, independent and transparent investigations into the accusations that the Hellenic police or the Hellenic Armed Forces were shooting with armed weapons on unarmed asylum seekers and migrants can establish the facts of what happened during these turbulent days, in particular on March, 2nd and 4th, and if the Greek authorities acted correctly. In addition, we echo UNHCR’s recent call for an investigation into “multiple reports of pushbacks by Greek authorities at the country’s sea and land borders”1 to Turkey. In this respect, I feel supported by your proposal during the exchange of views in LIBE to investigate any allegations of violations of fundamental rights and I trust that you will coordinate with the other relevant Ministers on this serious matter. Therefore, I am asking you to establish an investigation by an independent body under Greek law that could look into the evidence and testimonies regarding incidents of March 2 and 4 as well as reported pushbacks and provide an official and public report on the outcomes of such an investigation. I count on your cooperation with the view to ensure our citizens that the rule of law and fundamental rights prevail within the European Union and that police and armed forces, as well as border and coast guards, comply with the law even in challenging situations. I would like to thank you in advance for your kind cooperation. Yours sincerely, Juan Fernando López Aguilar 1 https://www.unhcr.org/news/briefing/2020/6/5ee33a6f4/unhcr-calls-greece-investigate-pushbacks-sea-land- borders-turkey.html .